Athame stood there by the ocean, feeling the breeze lift her long black hair off her shoulders,
and breathed in deeply, smelling the salt in the air.
I've always loved the ocean. I wonder why..I suppose it's because the ocean
has no worries or cares...Except perhaps where a tsunami will be next..Do I really
believe that? That the ocean has a mind of its own?
She took off her boots and began walking down the beach, wetting her feet in the ocean water, and
loving the sensation that created.
I suppose I do believe that the ocean has a mind of its own. Although I'm not entirely sure why I think such a thing.
After, all, isn't there a guardian of water? I wonder if he has something to do with tsunamis and the ocean...
Oh, such things are useless to think about....I don't suppose I shall ever know.
She stopped again and turned to look at the sun as it set.
It is almost night. Almost my prime activity time...Such a lovely night it shall be too...
Just then, a wave sprang up the shore when Athame wasn't expecting it. She fell to the sand with an audible
cry of surprise, and tried feebly to scream for help as the wave carried her away.
Her voice was too quiet for anyone to hear her, however, because she used it so seldom.
...Am I going to die this way..? Drowning in the ocean..?

Enrai waded out into the ocean, stopping when the water became waist-high. His expression was blank as he stared into the horizon. His eyes taking notice at the sun, as it slowly began to fall under the horizon. "I guess its going to be another one of those days..." Enrai thought out loud, letting out a sigh. His eyes shifted to the ocean. Emptiness... He thought. It was a feeling that Enrai knew very well. He couldn't say that he disliked it, he wasn't happy or depressed, and for him, it was almost an odd mixture of the two.

Enrai rested his hands on the hilts of his two swords, which were sheathed loosely around his waste. The two blades drifted back and forth, as the waves pushed and pulled in and out from the ocean. "I guess it would be time for me to get back to traveling." He added, letting out another sigh. Enrai wished he could stand there forever, and maybe just let the tide take him out into the ocean, washing away all his worries. He shook his head, disregarding the thought. But as the mercenary turned to travel back to inland, he heard a faint cry of help. A muffled scream, coming out from the ocean. Enrai's head immediatley turned to face the direction it had come from. He dove into the waters, swimming frantically towards what he now began to recognize as a woman. He could barely see her silhoette as she was being drug down farther into the dark ocean. Enrai swam downward, plunging into the cold sea. From where he stood, the water was around twenty feet deep, and the mercenary struggled to beat the current to her. "Grab my hand!" He shouted, his voice being stifled by the water. All he could do was hope that she heard him.

Just as Athame had given up hope that she would be saved,
she saw someone---a man..?--swimming towards her, obviously as fast as he
possibly could.
...My savior...?
She thought she heard him say "Grab my hand!!" Since she was running out of air,
and had no time to waste, she did as he instructed, reaching out and grasping his
hand and holding to it with all her strength.
She felt the waves churn powerfully around her, as though saying
"She is ours!! She is ours!!"In fact, she distinctly heard
those words, as though the ocean didn't want to let her live....
I have survived three moves to different planets by magical teleportation. I have survived four assassination attempts to date. Soon to be five or more, I'm sure.
I will NOT die like this, drowning because of a stupid freak wave!!
Athame's face became determined as she held to the stranger's hand.
...I will not die...

Enrai grasped the stranger's hand, and started swimming towards the water's surface. He now began to realize that he was starting to feel the need to breathe. He felt all the air in him wanting to be released. Enrai neared the surface, and with every second that passed he felt the weight on his lungs grow, wanting to collapse inward. The mercenary's head burst upward from the ocean, Enrai gasping for air. He pulled the stranger up, hoping that she was still conscious. He started to kick his legs, swimming to land, holding the stranger's hand tightly. She isn't unconscious... Enrai thought to himself, feeling her squeeze his hand just as hard.

So... close... He thought, as he neared the beach. The mercenary could feel his feet touching the sand as he kicked them. He stopped for a moment, adjusting himself so that he stood upright. The water where he stood was shallow, only about four feet deep. Enrai turned back to the woman, taking a quick glance at her. "Are you able to make it back to the beach from here? He asked, looking ahead at the beach again. The mercenary could feel the muscles in his legs burning.

Athame pulled a little on the stranger's hand and helped herself stand up.
She then waded onto the beach and collapsed onto the still-warm sand, not caring that sand
was going to get into her hair and irritate herscalp for the next three days.
She waited for him to get up on the beach, not paying much attention to what he looked like.
I shall think about appearances later. For now, he has saved me from the menace of the deep....
Although that menace was the Deep itself..How many people can honestly say the ocean
attacked them? Not many, I should think...
She was glad to feel the sand under her, good old Terra Firma. She picked up a handful of sand
and let it sift through her fingers slowly, almost carressingly, as she lay.
She remembered that, of course, her shirt was wet, and would be clinging to her...erm...
"endowments" as her mother had put it, but at the moment she didn't care. All Athame
cared about was breathing. Getting as much oxygen into her lungs as possible, seeing as though
she had almost drowned...

Enrai watched the girl slowly walk onto the beach. He followed behind her. Staggering onto the sandy beach, Enrai plopped down beside the girl. He felt like all the muscles in his body were screaming at him from the rescue of the woman. "Well, I don't know about you, but, I don't think I'll be coming back to a beach for a while..." He said, smiling. Enrai didn't look at her, but he knew that she could hear him. The mercenary took the swords out of their sheathes, and stuck them into the sand next to him.

His eyes shifted to the horizon. The sun was no longer visible, and the stars were beginning to show overhead. Enrai glanced at the stranger quickly. "You alright? If you don't mind me asking... What were you doing so far out into the ocean?" The mercenary asked with a puzzled look. He didn't mean to pummel her with questions, but he was curious.


((Sorta short =X))

Athame didn't turn and look at the stranger, she was too busy looking at the becoming
night sky.
"I am fine. I was out in the ocean because I like the water...It helps me forget things. I didn't think
I would be carried away and almost drown, certainly! ..I am called Athame. And you are?"
Athame continued to stare at the sky and wait for the man's answer.
For he was indeed a man, his voice proved that much to her.
...It's been a long time since I've heard a voice quite like that...ten years....Wait a minute...
Athame sat up and looked at the man--young man, and almost fell backwards with shock.
Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth, as though she had seen a ghost--and indeed she had!
This young man was the very image of her husband! EXACTLY as he had been the day he died!!
....It can't be...I...

Enrai smiled at her reply. "Well, thats good to--" The mercenary started to say, but stopped when he saw that she stared at him with shock. Enrai arched his eyebrow in puzzlement. "Errmm..." He was going to ask what was wrong, and wiped his face off in case he had something on it. Enrai disregarded the look of surprise on her. "Uhmm... My name is, Enrai." He replied to her, giving a faint smile.

The mercenary felt awkward. He did not know how to react to this situation. "Perhaps its best I leave." Enrai stated to her, standing up. He retrieved his swords from the sand. "You should probably get your rest, anyway." The mercenary added, sheathing the blades.

Athame recovered as quickly as she could and stopped staring at him.
"I am sorry...You just remind me of someone, is all. Don't leave, you've just saved my life.
I can hardly make it up to you if you leave me so quickly. I am also lonely, I know no one on this planet..Please...Stay."
She looked up at him and her jet black eyes met his soft gold ones.
...He looks just like him...I can't believe it...
Her eyes looked sad, almost distant, as she looked out at the ocean for a moment.
She looked back at Enrai.
"Please...stay."

Enrai listened to her words, as she pleaded him to stay. In truth, he did not want to leave, and had a feeling that she did not want him to leave either. The mercenary disliked traveling, and would do just about anything to avoid it, even if it was only a brief moment. Enrai placed his swords in the sand next to, again. He sat down where he had been earlier. "Well... I suppose I can stay a little bit longer." The mercenary said, pretending to act reluctant.

Enrai's eyes glanced at her, then they shifted to the stars. He had no clue what they would talk about. It was an awkward meeting of the two strangers. I suppose I'll make some conversation. Enrai thought, shifting his eyes back to her. "So... Why are you traveling by yourself?" He asked, hoping the question wasn't too personal.

Athame was grateful that Enrai had decided to stay.
"...Yes I am alone. I usually am. I tend to be a danger to the few who choose
to befriend me...Therefore I travel alone, keep almost no company. I hate to travel,
though. If I had a choice I would simply settle in one of these coastal towns...
But I don't have that option...They'd find me. They always find me. And try to kill me.
You don't seem to have a companion, either. Do you?"
Athame looked at Enrai again, her dark eyes meeting his and locking his eyes with her gaze.
Her eyes, dark as oil spots, shone from within. As though a candle was lit in her soul.
...Those who look into the Healer's eyes see pain in their depths. Pain that she
has far, far too few years for.

Enrai listened again to Athame's words. Everytime she spoke, more questions came into his mind. "Who are 'they'? And why would they want to kill you?" He asked. But as he finished his question, he began to wonder about his this person. Why would they want to kill her? The mercenary repeated to himself. Enrai wondered if this person was just putting up a show. He realized then, that if she wanted, she could probably dig a knife straight into his back, catching him completely unaware. Enrai kept his eyes on her, not all things were as they seemed in these times.

The mercenary let out a sigh. He would truly hate having to fight this person if it boiled down to that, and did not want to think about it, so he returned his attention to her. "And I do travel alone, to answer your question." He added, giving her a weak smile.

Athame sensed Enrai's disbelief, but she could do little about it. Few
enough people ever believed her, anyway.
"...I don't know who they are. ...They raided my village and killed my husband and
son. I managed to escape their capture and have travelled to three planets since.
I have survived four assassination attempts by the same clan of raiders that hit my village,
and I've survived being transported from one planet to another by magickal teleportation three times.
...I know you probably don't believe me. YOu don't have to. Most people don't."
Athame's voice cracked from unuse. She cleared her throat a few times and looked back up at Enrai,
waiting for his response.
The breeze kicked up again, sending her hair back over her shoulders and drying it easily. She shooked it out
and ran her fingers through its dark length without a single wince of pain.
"I cannot speak as well as I could. I don't use my voice much..."